Over the past five years, I have had the opportunity to interview families, individuals and groups, sharing stories in our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors magazine about where they came from, what brought them to Newtown Square and why they love to live and work here. It truly is a special town filled with history, heritage and generosity.
Giving back to our community is important, especially when giving back to the people who selflessly volunteer their time, talents and resources to keep us safe. This past December, our community gathered once again at our favorite hometown spot, Casey’s, for a guest bartending event to celebrate the holiday season and raise funds for our Newtown Square Volunteer Fire Company.
This was the second year for the fundraiser, which was a huge success in its inaugural year. The idea originally began when our Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Leonard Alteri, and I attended a Newtown Square Business Association (NSBA) happy hour networking event. Being that the two of us are lifelong Newtown Square residents and I serve as the President of the NSBA, it’s safe to say that we know a lot of people.
We got to talking about fun ways to network and raise funds, and I suggested we work as guest bartenders for a night. Mind you, neither one of us had ever stepped foot behind a bar, so the idea was a bit far-fetched. At the very least, we figured we would get a few laughs out of it. Leonard and I agreed that if we were to have such an event, the only place we would want to serve up drinks would be at our favorite hometown bar, Casey’s, and that the money raised would go directly to the fire company.
We arranged a meeting with Casey’s owner, Pete Crisanti, and after a friendly discussion over the best French Onion soup this side of the Blue Route, the plan was in place. Not surprisingly, Pete graciously agreed to donate 30% of all beverage sales that night toward our cause, but what was surprising was that he was okay with putting us two rookies behind the bar, as long as we were accompanied by three of his best bartenders, of course!
The first event was an enormous success, raising over $8,000 for our first responders, thanks to the generosity of our friends, family, community members and a very generous local resident who matched our proceeds, dollar-for-dollar. And much to our surprise, these two bartending rookies worked hard to serve a packed house for three solid hours!
The folks at the fire company must have been impressed with our skills, so they asked us to do it all again on Tuesday, December 16th and once again, we had the support of our generous friend who pledged to match our earnings in exchange for two reserved seats at the bar. We may not be able to make a martini, but we’re really good at saving seats!
The fundraiser began promptly at 6pm, when Traci, Karen, and Cassidy, a.k.a. Casey’s Dream Team, called us back behind the bar. It was time to get to work, and boy, did we work! By 6:15, the bar was packed, and the drinks were flowing. The crowd continued to grow with each passing hour. We enjoyed great tunes and holiday cheer while folks from the fire company worked the room, collecting additional cash donations.
To say our 2nd annual event was a success is an understatement. It exceeded our expectations not just in the amount of money we raised but in the overwhelming amount of support and positive energy from our community. Below is the message from our Newtown Square Fire Company announcing the results:
“Thank you to everyone who came out to Casey’s this past Tuesday night. With your support and very generous donor matching dollar-for-dollar, we were able to raise close to $10,000! Fundraisers like these are crucial for supporting our volunteers, who rely on community donations to maintain equipment, training, and emergency response capabilities. The money raised will help ensure that the Newtown Square Fire Company can continue to provide essential services and keep the community safe. It’s wonderful to see local businesses and community members come together for such an important cause.”
Leonard also shared a message to all who showed up that night:
“To everyone who came to the guest bartending on Tuesday, Sheila and I want to say thank you! Because of your generosity and the extremely generous dollar-for-dollar match by Joanne Berwind, nearly $10,000 was raised for our Newtown Square Fire Company! I thank Sheila Turner-Hilliard, President of the Newtown Square Business Association, for coming up with the idea behind this event. To Pete Crisanti and the Casey’s Newtown Square crew, including Traci, Karen and Cassidy, thank you for allowing us to do this event for our community. To the members of this amazing community, many of whom just came to drop money in the donation jar, thank you for supporting the Newtown Square Fire Company. And lastly, to everyone who drank a drink that Sheila and I completely butchered, and pretended it was correct, we thank you for allowing our egos not to be bruised.”
Will we do it again? I’d say it’s likely we’ll be back for a three-peat! Stay tuned, and who knows? Maybe we’ll surprise you all by honing our mixology skills. Cocktail anyone?